Connor Herson Climbs Two Hayden Kennedy Hard Trad Classics
Over the span of only two days, the young American climber sent two legendary 5.14- routes in Indian Creek. We interviewed Herson to learn more.
Connor Herson recently had a wildly successful three days of trad climbing in Indian Creek, Utah. On March 28, he onsighted Optimator 5.13a and redpointed Will Stanhope’s Down in Albion 5.13 R along with his climbing partner, Brent Barghahn.
The following day, March 29, Herson sent Carbondale Short Bus 5.14a R. Opened by the late Hayden Kennedy in 2012, Carbondale Short Bus is a unique and spicy line up a very thin crack. After runout, cruxy, and height-dependent moves down low, a big leftward dyno above tiny gear is needed to reach the chains. Nick Martino had projected the climb for some time before Kennedy’s FA. It has gone on to see few repeats over the years, including from Matt Segal, James Pearson, and Brad Gobright.
As if those two days weren’t enough, on March 30, Herson redpointed another Kennedy classic, Kokanee Corner 5.14a. Herson sent the notoriously difficult route in a single day, ground-up on his first redpoint attempt. After Kennedy’s FA, the line went unrepeated for almost 10 years until Will Moss’s recent second ascent. Herson’s send is very likely the climb’s third ascent. Kennedy originally suggested a grade of 5.13+ for the climb. Moss suggested an upgrade to 5.14a.
Kokanee Corner is a three-pitch route. Pitch 1 works its way up the popular Egg Drop Soup 5.12 layback corner. Pitch 2 is the crux, requiring hard moves on small crimps and tiny feet to exit a crack and move across an arete. Some 5.12 climbing is then encountered before a runout, wickedly technical section of stemming. The final pitch involves a 5.12 finger crack with a tough, bouldery crux.
Herson is quickly amassing one of the best trad climbing resumes in the world. The 20-year-old had one of his best climbing years ever in 2023. Over a period of a few short weeks in Squamish in the summer, he sent the legendary Cobra Crack 5.14b, Didier Berthod’s new Crack of Destiny 5.14, Jesse Huey’s Stélmexw 5.13+, and Hazel Findlay’s Tainted Love 5.13+. After leaving Squamish, Herson went on to repeat Ethan Pringle’s Blackbeard’s Tears 5.14 in northern California. He then made the first free ascent of Hairline, a 13-pitch 5.13+ up Mount Whitney, and repointed Beth Rodden’s Meltdown 5.14c in Yosemite.
We spoke with Herson to learn more about his experience on Carbondale Short Bus and Kokanee Corner. You can read our short interview below.
Carbondale Short Bus
How many days did you spend on Carbondale Short bus this trip? I spent two days on Carbondale – the first day I top-roped on it but it was really cold so I stopped pretty early. The second session was one top-rope lap and one lead go – the send!
Did you use crash pads for the run-out start or pre-place a piece? I used a crashpad and ran out the bottom. But, I did place my first piece lower than most people
What made the route feel easier and safer this year? I think I was just in a better headspace, which made it easier. I also changed my beta to place gear lower and climb the bottom closer to the line of gear to make the falls safer.
What did you think of the grade/difficulty? The bottom crux is pretty height dependent – some people can fully reach past to a good fingerlock, or you have to do a pretty hard boulder. This is one of the few climbs I think could have a split grade depending on height, 5.13+ if you’re above 5’10″ or so and 5.14a if you’re shorter than that.
Kokanee Corner
How were you feeling that day? It was your third day on of hard crack climbing. I was definitely a bit tired. That’s why Brent and I were just hoping to check out the moves and do a recon, but once I was climbing it felt OK!
You’re shorter than Hayden. How did you deal with the reachy crux moving out of the crack and across the arete? The entrance move was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be! There’s another hold Hayden and Will skipped that made it quite doable for my height. Honestly the entire climb did not feel very height-dependent.
Did the upper stemming section give you trouble? Or did all your Squamish stem climbs prepare you well for the challenge? The upper stemming was quite sequential, but not physically the hardest. I think the Squamish stemming definitely helped!
What did you think of the grade? How did it compare to Carbondale for you in terms of quality and difficulty? It’s hard to say. I could see 5.13d, I could see 5.14a. Carbondale definitely gave me more trouble, but I had to fight harder on Kokanee. But Kokanee is just such a cool and wild pitch! It looks so improbable from the ground, and it’s crazy that there are just enough holds down low to make it go.
Brad Gobright on Carbondale Short Bus and Kokanee Corner
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